Friend bought puppy under 6 weeks...

shegirl

Just wanted some advice!My friend has bought a puppy who is just over 5 weeks old,was going to wait until he was 6 weeks but obviously wanted him sooner.I told her he should be 8 weeks really but as the accidental or backdoor breeder is a friend of hers she trusts her to be right and she had told her the vet had said they can go earlier..they just need to be feeding away from mum!

Friend seemed quite narked at my advice anyway.She also works a couple of hours a day and this tiny ickle pup will be on his own for periods (don't think there's a crate either..just newpaper around to play on and pee/poo on) so I'm worried that things may get a little hectic and a bit too much for the teency ickle pup.

Anyone got any opinions on this and if I'm being daft thinking it's a bad idea?Another friend of ours warned her about seperation anxiety,bowel probs and behaviour but was wondering if anyone could provide any further info on these as friend seems to think it will all be no problem,all easy,pup will be fine and it's just a cute thing for an early christmas present for her daughter

sarabe

Not a good move. That pup needs to be with it's Mum and siblings for at least another couple of weeks.

I don't believe for one minute that any vet said it was okay.

Regardless of the pup being weaned he still has a lot of things to learn that can only be learned from being with other dogs and a long period of isolation is probably going to be disastrous.

Have all the other pups been sold too?

If the breeder just wanted shot of them then perhaps all the pup's new owners could get them together daily.

Failing that the pup needs to be around a sensible adult dog or two occasionally.

shegirl

sarabe wrote: »

Not a good move. That pup needs to be with it's Mum and siblings for at least another couple of weeks.

I don't believe for one minute that any vet said it was okay.

Regardless of the pup being weaned he still has a lot of things to learn that can only be learned from being with other dogs and a long period of isolation is probably going to be disastrous.

Have all the other pups been sold too?

If the breeder just wanted shot of them then perhaps all the pup's new owners could get them together daily.

Failing that the pup needs to be around a sensible adult dog or two occasionally.

That's what I thought too.He needs to be around his mum and litter mates to learn doesn't he,bite inhibition and all sorts.

Looks like all the pups went at the same time,think it was a case of 'hey my dog has had puppies,come buy them' and they've all been taken by numpties who saw a cheap price tag etc :-( Even in the photos of him when he was 2 days old he's being held up in a fist under his ickle front legs which I found horrible (may be a bit sensitive there but jeez the poor thing was 2 days old!!!!)

Will try and talk to my friend again but she doesn't seem to be having any of it!He's her 7 year old daughters christmas present so it's all excitement and 'I love you for buying me a puppy mummy' (daughter has her own facebook account and is posting it constantly!!)

Feel quite bad for the poor little mite :-( No wonder they couldn't find a collar small enough for him!!!!

Froglet

That is just so tragic for the poor little puppy,and it's siblings.When will people realise that breeding by amateurs does so much potential harm.This pup needs a lot of care in it's first few weeks.Being left alone one minute,and then smothered by a 7 year old the next must be so frightening for him.

If the vet did say that,she needs to change the vet and fast.It will need checking over,worming,vaccinating etc.I bet it has had none of that.

To be honest i bet the novelty will have worn off even before xmas arrives.Has your friend even had dogs before?

i don't know whether it is even an offence to let puppies go at such a young age.Does anyone else know?

shegirl

Froglet wrote: »

That is just so tragic for the poor little puppy,and it's siblings.When will people realise that breeding by amateurs does so much potential harm.This pup needs a lot of care in it's first few weeks.Being left alone one minute,and then smothered by a 7 year old the next must be so frightening for him.

If the vet did say that,she needs to change the vet and fast.It will need checking over,worming,vaccinating etc.I bet it has had none of that.

To be honest i bet the novelty will have worn off even before xmas arrives.Has your friend even had dogs before?

Not as far as I know but may have had one when a kid i guess.

I know he's not had any vaccinations,he has been wormed though,that's something right I guess.

I feel awful for him And without a crate too I can see even more problems and potential dangers for him too,especially when left on his own

Another friend has just mentioned that the extra time with mum is more important for terriers due to their tendancy to be a bit snappier...is that true?

As for the vet,I don't think the vet was asked tbh,that or the breeder is lying.The breeder posted on friends facebook earlier congratulating herself for doing everything your 'meant to' when you have a litter of puppies....hmmm

shegirl

wow!£170 for male pups,£200 for female pups,no wonder they went so quick:eek:

What is really really sad,is a friend of hers has just asked if there are any left (and apparently no they've all gone now),how much and where to get one as her daughter now wants one for christmas.I thought the days of everyone wanting a puppy for christmas were starting to die

Froglet

hmmm indeed.Thanks for being caring enough to try and help.Any dog can be snappy if not socialised properly.And if it is teased ,even without any malice meant by the 7 year old,it's only form of defence is to snap or bite.Mouthing is what puppies do by instinct.I'm sure there will be all sorts of problems with it being taken away too early.Your friend really has no idea what she is letting herself in for.Why do rescue centres take so much care,especially with young children around.

Terriers can be wilful.i can see problems ahead.That's if it does survive,or your friend ends up keeping it.

YorkiePud_3

Been there, done that .... in my case I bought a pup of 5 weeks old that was going to be shot (they lived on a farm). Unwanted pregnancy ... I knew it was going to be touch and go and a lot of hard work but I was prepared for it.

At that age, the pup wants to be on something like Welpi Puppy Milk which is the closest thing to his mother's milk. The vet will more than likely suggest that or some alternative, but the pup needs this to help build resistance to disease and it's very easy for them to digest.

When I took him to the vet and said he was a bit of a rescue, my vet told me to be prepared to lose him because he really was far too young to be away from his mother.

It was only with a lot of hard work and constant attention, plus numerous check ups with the vet to make sure he was putting weight on as he should, that got him to the super little adult dog he is now.

Socialising was a big problem .... we're still working on it.
There is just so much they miss out on learning from their mother and litter mates so it really needs working on. My dog isn't snappy at all, but he is very unsure how to act around other dogs. I've got him to be okay and to feel confident and happy meeting other people, but other dogs are a problem that we are still working on!

As I say, it's hard work, frustrating and time consuming .... but if your friend is prepared to stick with it then that little pup could be well worth all the time and effort she can put into him.

JG82

We got both our puppies early on. The first one was 6 weeks when we got him; the owners basically couldn't wait to get rid of the pups and we do suspect they weren't being cared for anyway so much better off with us.
Second one was from a breeder on farm. Was a very big litter and the mum was absolutely exhausted with them. We got him around 6weeks too (maybe couple of days early). Again was for the better as he was infested with mites and not cared for; was a wee soul.
I am saying they were both better off with us however did worry about them leaving their mum's and siblings. The vets told us not to worry about it at all as they were obviously being neglected anyway so had a much better chance with us as there was someone with them 24/7 in the beginning. This though has led to seperation anxiety. My point is, depending on the individual dog's there is pro's and con's.
Hope puppy is doing ok.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Hmmm...well, it is possible to handrear a tiny animal. If you have a clue about animal health, physiology and welfare.

But the odds are that she will have herself a dead dog by Christmas. Then it's time for her to buy a replacement.

Some people...... :mad:

CFC

I've had a dog at 6 weeks, the mum had a huge litter and the breeder just wanted some of them gone. Plus the little girl was holding him upside down over a concrete drive when I first saw him and I thought he was probably safer with us. Small ones just need a lot more care.